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Happy 18th birthday Sophia!

I must have blinked. Just the other day I was bringing you home from the hospital…all bundled up in blankets to keep you warm.

I remember standing for hours by your crib, just looking at you. I was in awe that such a precious, perfect little baby was mine. I was so in love that I would just cry sometimes as I held you. Some nights I would get up just to hold you while you slept. I felt like I was the luckiest woman alive to have you and that I must certainly be God’s very favorite. For God gave me you…my perfect little princess.

When you were only eight, we went from being a family of four to a family of three Just us girls and your brother….scared, heart-broken, and a little unsure of how we would make it on our own. Turns out we were just fine…maybe even more than fine. We were smarter, stronger, wiser than we ever knew…and surprisingly happy. I would not trade this part of our story for anything. For all the talks, the late night snuggle time, and even the tears brought us a closeness that I cherish.

With God’s help we survived the middle-school and early high-school years. Now after all the hard lessons we learned, you are becoming a young woman of grace and faith. We shared not only a home, but hearts for Jesus and hope for a better world. You often taught me life lessons.

High school years are going by far too fast… a driver’s license, college plans. I’m not sure how to slow it down, but I wish I could do so. I have no doubt that you are ready for this world. For you are already a smart, talented, focused woman with level head and faith that will carry you through any tough roads ahead. I have complete confidence that you will conquer this world with your grace and wit. Although I never did sell you on the virtues of a tidy room and folded clothes, I feel I have been successful as your mom. I worked hard at it, but I made mistakes too. I owe any real success to God’s grace and your forgiving spirit.

Being your mother is truly the greatest blessing of my life. If God’s love is greater than human love, then I am awestruck by how immense that love must be. For I love you more than you could ever know.

Happy Birthday! You make me proud and happy and blessed beyond measure.